Jessica Chastain

With her piercing gaze and a commanding presence, it came as no surprise that Jessica Chastain went from being a relative newcomer to acting in high-profile roles opposite seasoned actors like Brad Pi...
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HBO
True Detective creator Nic Pizzolato spent his Memorial Day weekend bequeathing listeners of the To the Best of Our Knowledge radio program with new information about the upcoming second season of his celebrated HBO series. While we still have no word on who'll star in the sophomore round of philosophically dense, delightfully grim hours of criminal investigation (Brad Pitt is up in the air and Jessica Chastain broke our hearts with a resounding "no"), we are now privy to some interesting details about the characters, setting, and plot. And it all sounds a little bit... familiar.
Courtesy of Uproxx, we have Pizzolato's quotes about the next story he plans to tell: "Right now, we’re working with three leads. It takes place in California. Not Los Angeles, but some of the lesser known venues of California and we’re going to try to capture a certain psychosphere ambience of the place, much like we did with season one ..." Tacking this onto the last batch of info we heard about True Detective (via EW), things get somewhat eerie: "The basic idea: Hard women, bad men, and the secret occult history of the U.S. transportation system."
Taken independently, each one of these elements sounds none too suspicious. But when you slap 'em all together, you can't help but wonder if Pizzolato is upping the ante on his devotion to source material since Season 1's adherence to the Robert W. Chambers short story "The King in Yellow." This time around, it doesn't seem like True Detective is looking to literature to guide its story, but to another show. A show we all know, all love. A show that still exists. In our minds, our hearts. All around us. Everywhere we look.
That's right. True Detective Season 2 sounds exactly like Full House.
Think about it:
It's bumping up to three leads...
ABC Television Network
Takes place in California, but not Los Angeles...
ABC Television Network
And focusing on the secret occult history of the U.S. transportation system (you know, like a bridge)...
Getty Images
As Pizzolato puts it, the season is about bad men...
ABC Television Network/Getty Images
And hard women...
ABC Television Network/Getty Images
And will really delve into the psychosphere ambiance...
ABC Television Network/Getty Images
That's right. So don't worry if the milkman, the paperboy, evening TV, and all the other tenets of predictability seem to have faded away. Because time is a flat circle.
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Leonardo DiCaprio raised nearly $1 million (£625,000) by auctioning off a trip to outer space with him at the amfAR Gala in Cannes, France on Thursday (22May14). The annual charity event gathered Hollywood A-listers, who were in town for the Cannes Film Festival, at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc to raise money for AIDS research, and DiCaprio was among the stars who offered up rare items up for sale.
The Wolf of Wall Street star auctioned a place on a 2015 Virgin Galactic space trip with him, and the once-in-a-lifetime ticket sold for approximately $956,795 (£597,997), according to Variety.com.
Another seat on the trip with DiCaprio sold at last year's (13) amfAR Gala for $1.5 million (£937,500).
DiCaprio's The Quick and the Dead co-star Sharon Stone served as the auctioneer for the 2014 event, highlighting items such as a pair of gloves once owned by fashion mogul Karl Lagerfeld, a collection of red ball gowns by designers from around the world and a rare 1967 Andy Warhol painting of Marilyn Monroe.
A week's rental of the 11-bedroom yacht where Stone has been staying during her trip to Cannes was also sold during the auction.
The amfAR fundraiser brought in a record $35 million (£22.5 million).
Among the celebrities in attendance were Milla Jovovich, Heidi Klum, John Travolta, Jane Fonda, Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard, Rosario Dawson, Justin Bieber and Michelle Rodriguez.
The night also included performances by Lana Del Rey, Robin Thicke and classical star Andrea Bocelli, who dedicated My Way to late actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who founded amfAR in 1993.

Columbia Pictures via Everett Collection
HBO's True Detective shocked the world this past winter with its depiction of a seedy Louisiana that was low on morals and high in corpses. It was all the things a detective drama should be: moody, atmospheric, gripping, darkly funny, sometimes all in the same scene. It's inaugural eight-episode season was really something special, mostly due to the stellar creative team running its engine. Being that it's an anthology series, True Detective wasn't a show that had the luxury of easing through a freshman slump, waiting to work out the kinks and really delivering something special, maybe next season. The show had to hit hard out of the gate, and it did. Creators Nic Pizzolatto and his director Cary Joji Fukunaga delivered a wunderkind of a show: a contained singular vision that felt immaculately crafted. Every shot, scene, and line of dialogue obsessed over and placed into action with the upmost care. Its a marvel of television engineering.
But even beyond Pizzolatto's scripts and Fukunaga's direction, it's the actors that really kept True Detective running at such a high level. Hearing Rust Cole wax poetic with misanthropic asides wouldn't be nearly as interesting if the words weren't coming out of Matthew McConaughey. And similarly, would we even care all that much about conflicted family man Marty Hart if his internal struggles weren't externalized by Woody Harrelson? This is a production that deserves great actors to bring it to life. This is a production that deserves the talents of someone like Jessica Chastain.
Following The Nerdist's reporting that Chastain had been offered a leading role in Season 2 of the series, we got the downer report from E! that she has turned down the gig. We're not surprised that she was offered the part; Chastain is easily in the same caliber of actors as the two leads from last season. She has a resume full of strong female characters, and easily has the magnetism needed to headline the next bizarre mystery the series will send us on. Her strong-willed character in Zero Dark Thirty would feel right at home on Pizzolatto's next crime beat. Her casting would also fix True Detective's biggest issue: its treatment of women. For all of its merits, True Detective is a deeply male-centric program, and the women in that show's version of Louisiana were often relegated to mistresses, strippers, prostitutes, and corpses, all in various states of undress. It's certainly a large blight on the first season, but Chastain headlining a second season more cognizant of its depiction of women is definitely the right move for the series.
The one and done nature of True Detective's anthology structure would also mean that appearing in the second season of the series wouldn't be a huge commitment for the actress. She wouldn't be stuck languishing in a series that went on too long past its time. She could do the season, and then leave to focus on film again. Taking part in the series could also be a huge boon to her career. Starring as a lead in the first season of the series was a huge step in Matthew McConaughey's "McConnaissance." It's only been a few months since we first met the character, and Rust Cohle has already become one of McConaughey's most recognizable roles. While the actress is already well known in the film world, a high profile role on television could change her into the household name. Just look at Bryan Cranston.
It's questionable gender issues aside, True Detective is fantastic. Without dragons, zombies, or whatever else, HBO managed to create event television — the kind you still crowd around the television set for every week — by virtue of simply being great. Now that the A-list of Hollywood is flocking to limited series on television, it only makes sense for Chastain to be a part of one of HBO's best efforts. So please, Ms. Chastain, will you be our next True Detective?
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In 2011, cinematic scholar and prolific movies writer Matt Patches pioneered a special appreciation for the Spielberg Face. For those yet untouched by the phenomenon, the Spielberg Face is that look of childlike awe and wonder you're guaranteed to find on the mug of any of the enchanting filmmaker's big screen heroes. It's a staple of the artist's filmography — while Steve certainly has the market cornered on whimsy, a few other directors seem to have adopted the silent stare to exemplify their own psychological brand. In the trailer for his new film Interstellar, the nihilistic Christopher Nolan appears to be doing just that: directing every one of his actors to stare off into a vacant distance in a fugue state of wistful, hapless sorrow.
Take a look!
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
At the :24 mark, Casey Affleck looks out upon the wasteland that has become of his beloved Earth, saying nothing, as his beard constricts his jaw from moving properly.
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
At :43, a field of baseball players call a TO on what must not be that important of a game to begin with (they don't even have numbers, or logos, or anything) to quiety stare down a dust cloud.
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
And here we find our hero Matthew McConaughey, dipping into his long untouched vault of emotional expressiveness to glare out his Deep South screen door without so much as a word for the cornless fields before him. [:55]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
Michael Caine usually has a helping of wisdom for the plucky young gents that hobble to his doorstep, but here he treats McConaughey only to a sullen, closed-mouthed glare. Back up, at least, Mike. You're in his bubble. [1:00]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
You think things look bleak and muted sitting down... [1:03]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
...look at how much bleaker and muter they are standing up! [1:05]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
Hey look, the kid's doing it now, too. Cheer up, kid. [1:17]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
Oh, oh jeez... things just got way more wistful and silent than we could have anticipated. How are you gonna stare out into the distance and mull over your laundry list of regrets through all them tears, McConaughey? [1:21]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
Academy Award-nominated actress Jessica Chastain will not be deterred by the fields of flaming wheat that surround and ultimately threaten to kill her. She's got some defeatist, squinty-eyed profile gawking to do. [1:41]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
"All we've got left," these kids think (not say, think), "is a trunk full of clutter, hearts full of destitution, and eyes full of whatever the unforgiving horizon can offer up." [1:46]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
Exclusive word from the set is that Anne Hathaway had to be instructed several times not to break into song during her scenes of silent staring. [1:53]
YouTube/Warner Bros. UK Trailers
And there it is, at 2:04. The longest stare of them all — that into the endless vaccuum of space, perhaps the most lonely, wistful, hopeless place conceivable. Family, friends, and any semblance of a home left literally lightyears away, with nothing standing ahead but black, cold face of emptiness... staring right back at us.
Should be a fun movie!
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The Weinstein Company
In an era where every franchise gets a two-part finale, The Weinstein Company is taking a different approach to releasing Ned Benson's film duality The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. Retitled as The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them, the two distinct films (Hers and His) will be edited into one for a wide-release on September 26, while the individual installments will get a limited release later that fall. Starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby attempts to tell the story of a failing marriage from two different perspectives, with the audience finding the "truth" of the situation somewhere in the middle.
The original, two-part cut premiered to rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, but when Harvey Weinstein acquired it for distribution shortly afterwards, he approached Benson about cutting them together into one film. The result, Them, will premiere at Cannes before arriving in theaters in the fall. From a distribution standpoint, it makes a great deal of sense to combine the film, as the average moviegoer would be less likely to see two separate films that tell the same story than one coherent take on it.
Though studios often split films up in order to make double the profit at the box office, in this instance, it's a smarter move for Weinstein to release just one film, since there's no guarantee that a mainstream audience will flock to see one installment of the story, let alone two. Chastain and McAvoy are both well-known and well-respected actors, but neither one of them has established themselves as a major box office draw yet, and so Weinstein can't simply rely on their star power to bring in audiences to both parts of the movie.
And since it's easier to get people to watch one film instead of two, it will likely also help Weinstein earn the film some awards attention. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby's mission to tell the same story from different perspectives helps it stand out from the other movies being released in the run-up to Oscar season, but having a single, two-hour cut of it will help encourage voters and critics to see it.
However, Benson's story was designed to be told in two parts, so cutting it into one might mean that Them loses some of the impact that the two-part film would have. Since the director himself is the one who edited it, much of his vision for the film will likely stay intact, but the additional editing a release plan means that the audience who will get to experience the film the way he intended will be much smaller.
We'll have to wait until the Them premieres at Cannes to find out whether or not a single film is the best way to present the story, but in the meantime, here's hoping Peter Jackson has learned a thing or two from this situation.
Of course, the real issue is the incongruity in the function of the pronouns at the end of the titles. Hers and His are possessive, Them is not.
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Walt Disney Co. via Everett Collection
When it comes to Old Hollywood, there is one name that has come to represent all of the glamour, intrigue and scandals of yesteryear: Marilyn Monroe. Therefore, it's no surprise that yet another Marilyn-centered project is in the works, this time with Jessica Chastain shimmying her way into the role. The Oscar nominee is set to star in the big screen adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' fictionalized biography, Blonde, which will be helmed by The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford writer/director Andrew Dominik. The project has been in the works for some time now, with Naomi Watts attached at one point to star, but it seems that Chastain's involvement may be exactly what Blonde needs to get off the ground.
The film, which Dominik has previously described as a "really sprawling, emotional nightmare fairy-tale type movie," follows a reincarnated Marilyn Monroe as she tells her own account of her tragic life, and how she transformed herself from Norma Jean Baker into the biggest movie star on the planet. While it seems as if Blonde will tackle Monroe's legend from a slightly different perspective, it's still difficult to muster up a great deal of excitement for the film. After all, there have been so many films, television series and novels recently revolving around the icon and her tragic life, from traditional biopics like My Week with Marilyn to the star-studded documentary Love, Marilyn to making her the subject matter of the fictional musical in Smash. We've heard Monroe's story told a million different ways, and, frankly, it's starting to lose its charm.
It's officially time for Hollywood to stop producing Monroe-related projects, at least for a while. It's understandable that Monroe, possibly the most famous movie star of all time, would be the inspiration for countless creative endeavors, but all of these films just seem to present the same information and act out the same events, with only the subtlest of details to differentiate them. It's always about the separation between who Monroe was to the world — the most glamourous, beautiful, mesmerizing woman to hit the silver screen — and who she was behind the scenes, and the internal conflicts she dealt with on a daily basis. And while that makes for an incredibly compelling story, the kind both writers and actors dream of sinking their teeth into, it's exhausting for audiences to see the same thing over and over again.
Monroe's story might incorporate everything that filmmakers find enticing, but there are only so many ways to tell it before it starts to become repetitive, which is going to make it harder to attract audiences to come see it. Sure, the glitz and glamour of Old Hollywood tends to go a long way in getting moviegoers into seats, but if they feel they've already seen a film or if it doesn't seem to offer anything new to keep them excited and engaged, they're going to feel it's a waste of time. Blonde is not just going to be competing against the other films being released at the same time, but also against all of the Monroe-related films that came before it.
Her legend is well-worn territory at this point, and so filmmakers who are interested in it need to find a way to make their project stand out. As a prominent historical figure, especially one who is portrayed so often onscreen and in pop culture, every detail of her story has been put onscreen at least once, which means that no matter how a project attempts to differentiate itself, it always ends up recycling the same information over and over again. It also means that there are numerous stories about Old Hollywood that are left untold, stories that are just as compelling, enticing and heartbreaking as Monroe's.
And there are countless Golden Age movie stars who are overlooked or forgotten, despite living the kind of lives that are ideal cinematic inspiration. Despite starring in one of the most scandalous films of the time at age 18, escaping and unhappy marriage and Nazi-occupied Austria while disguised as her own maid and inventing the technology used in modern wireless communications, Hedy Lamarr has surprisingly never been the focus of a Hollywood film. Rita Hayworth's difficult journey to Hollywood stardom — which included getting electrolysis to change her hairline in order to hide the fact that she was Spanish — and tumultuous relationships with many big names would make an incredibly juicy biopic. There's never been a film about Clara Bow, the It Girl of the Roaring '20s, or Josephine Baker, the first black woman to star in a major movie, or Marlene Deitrich, who defied conventional gender roles and had a string of affairs with both men and women.
All of these stories would offer the same combination of glamour, intrigue, and emotion (some would even be perfect for Chastian, if she's looking for a follow-up project) without retreading the same ground that yet another Monroe film does. We're just as interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at the Golden Age of Hollywood as the filmmakers who churn out movie after movie about Monroe are, but there are plenty of other places to look for inspiration. Sticking with the same old story is fine, but after a while, the sparkle starts to dull, and audiences become bored. At this point, another Monroe film just seems lazy, like the endless stream of sequels and reboots of lackluster action films. It may have been a big box office draw at one point, but now, it's just tired.
Chastian is an incredibly talented actress, and she'll likely give an incredible performance, one that incorporates all of the vulnerability and glamour that Monroe's story requires. But it's time for that story to be laid to rest for a while, and it's time for Hollywood to let some other stars shine.
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Jessica Chastain is set to become the latest actress to portray movie icon Marilyn Monroe on the big screen after reportedly landing the lead in director Andrew Dominik's new drama Blonde. The Zero Dark Thirty star will replace Naomi Watts in the project, an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' novel of the same name, according to TheWrap.com.
The book, which landed the author Pulitzer Prize consideration when it was released in 2001, conjures up Monroe's spirit and attempts to tell the actress' story from the point of view of Norma Jeane Baker - the Some Like it Hot star's real name. If the casting news is true, Chastain will join the likes of Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn), Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd (Norma Jean &amp; Marilyn) and Susan Griffiths (Marilyn &amp; Me), who have also portrayed Monroe, while Australian actress Poppy Montgomery played the screen icon in a TV mini-series adaptation of Blonde in 2001.

Focus Features via Everett Collection
If you watched the pilot episode of Alfonso Cuarón's highly anticipated new series Believe, you might be thinking that filmmakers should stick to the big screen. Forever. But the Gravity director still has time to convince people that Believe isn't the worst show ever. There's something exciting about a brilliant filmmaker taking on a television series, so here are five fantasy projects from some amazing directors who should definitely come to the small screen.
Terrence Malick
The day that Terrence Malick comes to the Sundance Channel with a television series developed from his The New World script will be a great day for us all. A mini-series about Pocahontas and/or her progeny? Yes, please.
Kathryn Bigelow
Back in 2010 her Broadway-inspired show The Miraculous Year was rejected by HBO, but it's time for Bigelow to get back out there. Considering the nature of many of her films (Zero Dark Thirty, Hurt Locker), people might be surprised to know that she's also an accomplished painter. It'd be great to see her team back up with Jessica Chastain for some kind of artsy period piece set in the 70s, when she was studying art with some of the best.
Tim Story
Now that he and Kevin Hart are proven box-office gold (Think Like a Man, Ride Along), this could be a great time for the duo to bring it to the small screen. Throw in a little Tracy Morgan (Story also produced First Sunday) and voila! Best show ever.
Guillaume Canet
This year he released his first English-language film (Blood Ties) and we can only imagine what a series (perhaps another crime drama) directed by him and starring him would look like (it'd probably look awesome... and really hot). Oh, and obviously his flawless significant other and frequent collaborator Marion Cotillard would be on board.
Miranda July
It's been forever since Me and You and Everyone We Know, but those two little boys deserve their own spinoff series. And the world is just a better place when July is creating things.
Wes Anderson
There's no real pitch here. It's just that some of us want to watch something, anything, by Wes Anderson every single week for the rest of our lives. Starring Bill Murray and Gene Hackman as two patriarchs who live next door to each other? Jason Schwartzman doing odd-jobs? Whatever. Who cares about the plot? It would be amazing!
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Inside Llewyn Davis star Oscar Isaac once fronted a Florida punk-ska band, called The Worms. The young movie star has revealed he was a singer/songwriter just like the one he plays in the Coen Brothers movie long before he started acting - and he once performed on America's Warped Tour festival.
He tells WENN, "I've been playing music since I was about 12 years old, playing guitar and I've had bands. I studied singing a little bit at school. I went to acting school Julliard but I took singing classes, so I'd always done it. My very first band was a soft rock band named Paper Face and then that turned into a hardcore band and that turned into a punk-ska band.
"I grew up in south Florida, so we would play in a whole bunch of places down there. We even played in the Warped Tour festival for a couple of dates, which was really fun. We were called The Worms and we were a ska band; I was playing bass.
"I never recorded an album. It was more of a local scene. We never really went out that way. Similar to Llewyn, every time it looked like the next step was gonna happen I would do something to sabotage it a little bit. Maybe out of fear."
Meanwhile, Isaac will be able to reminisce about his days at drama school on the set of his next film - he reunites with Jessica Chastain on director J.C. Chandor's The Most Violent Year.
He explains, "We went to Julliard together."

Title

Played recurring role of an assistant DA named Sigrun Borg on NBC’s "Law & Order: Trial by Jury"

Cast as Brad Pitt’s wife in Terence Malick’s "The Tree of Life"

Co-starred with Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy in Prohibition-era Western "Lawless"

Appeared on the shows "ER" (NBC) and "Veronica Mars" (UPN)

Made Broadway debut in "The Heiress," based on Henry James novel Washington Square

Landed featured role in the drama "The Help," based on Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel

Played opposite Al Pacino in Oscar Wilde's controversial play "Salome" at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles, CA

Reprised title character in "Wilde Salome," based on Oscar Wilde’s 1891 tragic play, directed by and co-starring Al Pacino

During senior year at Juilliard, signed a contract with television producer John Wells to appear on some of his shows

Starred as a CIA analyst in Kathryn Bigelow directed "Zero Dark Thirty," based on the hunt for Osama bin Laden

Played a young version of Helen Mirren's character, a Mossad agent who hunted down a former Nazi doctor in 1960s East Germany, in "The Debt"

Cast as Anya in the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of "The Cherry Orchard"

Cast as Virgilia in the feature adaptation of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus," directed by Ralph Fiennes

Co-starred with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in horror feature "Mama"

Made film debut as the title role in "Jolene"

Co-starred with Michael Shannon in "Take Shelter"

Voiced character of Gia in "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted"

Summary

With her piercing gaze and a commanding presence, it came as no surprise that Jessica Chastain went from being a relative newcomer to acting in high-profile roles opposite seasoned actors like Brad Pitt and Helen Mirren seemingly overnight. The classically trained actress jumpstarted her career with appearances on hit television dramas, before landing the lead role in "Jolene" (2008), which centered on a brave woman's 10-year journey across America. Chastain then made a huge leap onto the big screen with a memorable performance as a morally conflicted Nazi hunter in 1960s Berlin in the thriller, "The Debt" (2010). The following year, Chastain became a near constant presence on the festival circuit and a critical darling with lauded performances in Terrence Malick's meditation on the meaning of existence "The Tree of Life" (2011), the hugely successful adaptation of the novel "The Help" (2011), the disturbing psychodrama "Take Shelter" (2011) and the critically hailed action thriller "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012). These prestigious efforts, made by some of cinema's most acclaimed filmmakers and alongside some of the brightest stars, marked only the beginning for the exceptionally talented Chastain.

Name

Role

Comments

Marilyn

Grandmother

Accompanied her to 2012 Academy Awards

Juliet

Sister

Died at age 24

Jerri Chastain

Mother

Michael Hastey

Father

Gian Passi de Preposulo

Companion

Chastain confirmed relationship Feb. 12, 2013 on "Katie"

Education

Name

The Juilliard School

El Camino Fundamental High School

Notes

"I'm a very superstitious person. I'm walking onto the plane and my feet are on the lip of the plane. I have to do it every time before I fly...It started out because I was in New York on September 11. I freaked out and was terrified to fly. I used to do a little prayer outside the plane, and now I put my hands and my feet on the plane, and I think it'll be okay." – Chastain to Michael Shannon, Interview magazine, December 2011/January 2012